Clever Spots To Hide Valuables That Thieves Would Never Think To Look

Is your home protected against burglaries? Sure, you could lock away your possessions in a giant underground vault or install a series of laser tripwires in the hallway. But after you spend all your savings on a fancy security system, you’ll have no money left to guard!

The most effective hiding spots are the ones that are right in front of you but blend in perfectly with their surroundings. Here are the very best locations to store your treasures in plain sight. They’re guaranteed to keep your possessions safe while you sleep soundly!

1. The secret safe behind a painting is a total cliché at this point, but how about the safe behind the power outlet? It’s the perfect size for stashing money or jewelry. No burglar will ever find this spot unless for some reason he stops to charge his phone.

MSN / Elizabeth Flaherty

2. With a little bit of stuffed animal surgery, a teddy bear can become the perfect storage spot. As a fair warning, you probably don’t want to use a bear with any sentimental value. That’s because this trick requires cutting off its head, scooping out the stuffing, and inserting a jar inside.

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3. For the ultimate hiding spot, you can hollow out an area underneath a staircase. This secret passage lets you hide massive amounts of valuables, and you can even hide in it yourself as long as the space is big enough. If hanging out under the stairs is good enough for Harry Potter, then it’s good enough for you!

4. How would you like to secretly store tiny items right at your desk? That’s a cinch as long as you’ve got a stack of sticky notes. Just carve a hole in the middle of the stack, but leave the top and bottom sheets intact. Your nosy coworker will never steal your candy again!

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5. Just about any drawer can serve as the perfect clandestine storage spot. Insert a panel of wood — ideally with a disguised handle attached — into the drawer as a false bottom. From there, just stow any relatively flat valuables underneath. No one will be any more the wiser!

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6. You might hate your cheap TV, but it actually can help protect you from robbers! By mounting it in front of a hollow space in the wall, you have a large depository right behind your big screen that’s perfect for your REAL valuables.

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7. Any jar can become a low-maintenance cache for valuables. How, you might ask? All you need to do is drop a toilet paper roll inside, insert any small possessions into the tube, and fill up the rest of the jar with a dry food, like pasta or rice. You can keep this right in your kitchen for easy access, or even take it with you!

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8. Who empties out their vacuum cleaner on a regular basis, let alone someone else’s? Nobody is interested in getting literal dirt on you, which makes the inside of your vacuum very handy for storing sensitive items. It’s especially useful for tucking away important documents.

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9. It’s always a good idea to carry some emergency cash on you, somewhere separate from your wallet. Fortunately, there’s no place better to hold a few rolled-up bills than inside a hollow lip balm tube! It’ll stop your bank account from running dry, though your lips just might.

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10. When it comes to protecting your treasures, you should always take the high ground. So forget stashing prized possessions in the wall or floor — you can put light items on top of ceiling tiles! Just remember which tile you chose, or else you’ll be taking on quite the scavenger hunt.

MSN / Elizabeth Flaherty

11. That lip balm hack works great, but sometimes you need a bit more space. A sunscreen bottle will do just the trick, and you can still easily lug it around in your bag. This lotion is SPF 100 percent secure.

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12. Unless you have a really hungry cat burglar, chances are no intruders will check inside the fridge. A mayonnaise jar, or any other (mostly) empty container, makes for an ideal, out-of-the-way safe for a rainy day fund.

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13. Chances are that your house is full of various nooks and crannies, so you might as well put them to good use. You can fit a manila envelope in the crack between your kitchen cabinets (just attach a couple binder clips so you can spot it).

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14. Don’t just tuck your spare key under the doormat. That’s the first place everyone will look. But you can still hide a key right by your front door by putting it in a jar, burying it in the dirt, and placing a distinctive rock over the spot.

15. A globe is a classy piece of decor for any room and a useful one as well. Take advantage of its hollowness and tuck a wad of money or other small valuables at the bottom, maybe somewhere around Antarctica. This trick will open up a whole new world!

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16. Even if you’re not a cat person, you should pay attention to this trick. Nobody will go digging through a container of kitty litter, which makes it a great spot to stash a box of important items. For maximum effect, pour a layer of litter over the box so that it is completely submerged.

MSN / Elizabeth Flaherty

17. Good news: we finally have a use for the biggest, driest reference books that you never open. When glued together, their covers form an undercover storage spot that fits right in with your personal library. You can find this idea in your dictionary under G for “genius.”

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18. One man’s trash holds another man’s treasure. Rather than toss out an empty paint can, keep it on your shelf to hold a spare set of keys or some money. If you have a large paint selection, just be careful that you don’t misplace the special can!

MSN / Elizabeth Flaherty

19. No robber in their right mind would open up a pipe! So if you were to embed a length of PVC pipe into your wall, wouldn’t it be the perfect disguise for a safe? To make it even harder to crack, you can place the pipe out of easy reach.

MSN / Elizabeth Flaherty

20. We’ve covered a ton of genius hiding spots, but how will you keep track of them all? The easiest way is to write up a guide to remind you of all your treasures’ whereabouts. Hide it inside of your favorite book, and you will never lose anything again!